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13,725 PointsWhat's the difference between declaring the list as List<String> newList and ArrayList<String> newList = ...?
What's the difference between declaring the list as List<String> newList and ArrayList<String> newList = ...?
I'm sure you can declare it both ways, but I'm not sure what difference does it make.
1 Answer
Walter Allen
iOS Development with Swift Techdegree Student 16,023 PointsHey, Yani! List is an Interface which has parameters and methods in it that classes have to implement in order to implement the interface. ArrayList is a class that implements the List interface. You should not be able to insatiate a new List<E>() because it is only an interface and not a fully developed class; however, you could declare a variable as a List<E> and then instantiate it as an new ArrayList<E>(). This is an example of polymorphism. There's a good article explaining what polymorphism is and its benefits and limitations here: http://www.artima.com/objectsandjava/webuscript/PolymorphismInterfaces1.html.
Does that help? If not, I can try to explain a little further. :)
hbdc
13,725 Pointshbdc
13,725 PointsThanks Walter! That was very helpful. :)
Walter Allen
iOS Development with Swift Techdegree Student 16,023 PointsWalter Allen
iOS Development with Swift Techdegree Student 16,023 PointsMy pleasure, Yani! If it answered your question, do me a favor and mark it as "Best Answer." If not, let me know and I'll develop some more. :) Happy coding!
Yahia Shawkey
131 PointsYahia Shawkey
131 PointsOK, but why he didn't type ArrayList<String> newList = new ArrayList<String>; ?